It's been a tough week on the world stage for the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.

After being accused of falling asleep at D-Day commemorations in France, then being too busy to meet with world economic leaders in the US, Mr Abbott was the talk of Twitter yet again on Monday for a minor slip of the tongue during an official visit to Canada. Or is that Canadia?

In a press conference in the capital Ottawa, the Australian PM (or is that Austrian?) slightly stumbled, then immediately corrected himself, when pronouncing the name of the country he was visiting.

Advertisement

Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent condemnation of Russian policy in Ukraine, Mr Abbott responded: "They're very forthright remarks, and I think that they're perfectly appropriate remarks for the Canadian Prime Minister to make. Canadia, Canada, probably has more involvement in the affairs of Europe than Australia often does, but ..."

Despite Mr Abbott's immediate correction, the damage was already done. The Twittersphere was quick to jump on his gaffe, with "Canadia" soon trending in Australia.

Tony Abbott's four-nation tour got off to a less-than-ideal start before he even lifted off last week, when his RAAF jet was delayed by technical problems in Australia. A replacement jet had to be brought in, before Mr Abbott travelled to Indonesia to hold one-on-one talks with his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. His meeting with Dr Yudhoyono was considered a success, one bright spot in his overseas tour.

But on his next tour stop in France for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Mr Abbott was shown on camera closing his eyes at one point during the ceremony, and was accused of nodding off.

Around the same time, he was roasted on HBO satirical news program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which presented a highlight reel of some of his stickiest slip-ups and cringe-worthy comments.

The four-minute segment included clips of Mr Abbott’s remarks about women - ‘‘what the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing’’; to homosexuals - ‘‘I feel a bit threatened [by homosexuality]’’; and to ‘that’ wink while speaking to a cancer-suffering elderly sex line worker that most recently landed him in hot water.

Labor also has accused Mr Abbott of "embarrassing" Australia on the world stage after he reportedly cancelled meetings with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde. The meetings remain in doubt after Mr Abbott's office cited a busy schedule.

Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek leapt on the report, calling Mr Abbott a “Nigel no friends’’ on the world stage.

But Mr Abbott told reporters in Canada that reports he had snubbed economic leaders during his trip had been "highly exaggerated". Mr Abbott said his program was not finalised but he hoped to meet with Ms Lagarde and Dr Kim in the US this week.